Corn-planter



(No Model.) l0 SheetsVSheet l.

L. E. WATERMAN, T

001w PLANTER. No. 336,772; Patente'd"Feb.'23, 1886'.

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L. E. WATERMAN.

001m PLANTER; No. 336,772. Patented Feb. 23, 1886.

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CORN PLANTBR.

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ATTORNEY N. PETERS. "mm-Lithographer. Wnhingion, IZC.

,(No Model.) 10 Sheets-Sheet 4.

L. E. WATERMAN.

CORN PLANTER.

Patented Feb. 23, 1886.

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CORN PLANTER.

(No Model.)

Patented Feb. 23, 1886;

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L. B. WA TERM-AN.

- GQRNPLANTEm No. 336,772. Patented Feb. 23,1886.

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(No Model.)

L. E. WATER-MAN.

CORN PLANTER.

Patented Feb."23,f,1-8 86; V

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CORN PLANTER.

Patented Feb. 23, 1886.

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(No Model.) 10 Sheets-Sheet 10.

L. E. WATERMAN.

CORN PLANTER.

No. 336,772. Patented Feb. 23, 1886.

W 81% I 0, ATTORNEY Mill . w l UNITED STATES s ll; f 1 w l 1 PA'TEN OFFICE.

LEWIS E. \VATER-MAN, ()F MOLINE, ILLINOIS.

CORN-PLANTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent. No. 336,772, dated February 23, 1886.

Application filed October 28, 1884. Serial No. i-M,697. (X0 Infidel.)

To all whom-it may concern: I

Be it known that I, LEWIS E. Wntrnnnnu, of Moline, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn-Planters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in corn-planters, and partieula rlyto that class of planters in which the droppers and drills are located on a swinging bar attached to thefront end of a truck, the latter being adapted to support the driver,and the wheels of the truck to serve as-coverers.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved system of levers for regulating the depth of cut of the drills; a further object being to provide an improved construction of the drills and truck-spindles, whereby the drills and covering-wheels may be laterally adjusted; afurther object being to provide a sliding bottom plate and blanks, whereby the seedplate may be slid or swung out of position and ablank substituted therefor; a further object;

being to provide improved mechanism for operating the seed-plate and dropper-gate or lower valve, whereby the plate is positively l rotated and locked against displacement and the dropper-gate or lower valve caused to act independently of the seed-plate; a further object being to provide mechanism whereby the dropper may be operated ei her. by a checkfork or by the truck-wheel or by the driver.

With these ends in view my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of the planter in perspective, taken from the rear, one of the truck-wheels being removed. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the center,showi mg the dri lls and boxes in an elevated position. Fig.3is the same,showing the drills and boxesin adepresscd position. Fig. 4 is a view of one of the droppers in vertical section. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the same. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the rotating seed-plate and operating mechanism connected therewith. Fig. 7 is a detached view of the double pawl for operating the seedplate. Fig. Sis a detached view of the ad justable rest. Fig. 9 is a detached view of the gravitydatch for holding the seed-plate in position, and'Fig. 10 is a detached view of the adjustable axle-spindle. Figs. 11 to 18, inclusive,represeut modifications.

. A; A represent the truck-wheels having broad rims or faces, and mounted oulaterallyadjustable spindles a, secured to the axle B. The spindles a are provided on their inner ends with castings a, which are clearly represented in Fig. 10, and which curve downwardly from the spindles, and then extend horizontally in the form of elongated rectangular-shaped boxes having their upper portions cutaway except at their inner ends, in which boxes the ends of the axle B are adapted to fit and slide. The lower faces of the castings a are provided with elongated closed slots a", and a series of depressions, a, forming bolthead rests. Bolts b,passing upwardly through the slots (6, axle l3, and side rails, G, are provided with nuts b on theirupper ends,which, being turned on, draw thebolt-headsiuto their rests and secure the spindles and side rails sccurely to the axles; By loosening the nuts and driving the bolts downwardly until their heads are out of the rests a, the castings a may be moved laterally on the axles the re quired distance and the bolts drawn home again without removing a bolt and in a very short space of time.

The ready'and simple adjustmentof the spindles above described becomes a. matter of very great importance in a planter, as will more plainly appear hereinafter when the lateral adjustment of the drills is explained.

the bolts 12, as described, and are connected at their rear ends by a cross-bar, c. A cross-bar or sill, D, is hinged to the forward ends of the rails G, and has a dropperand drill secured to 1' it near each end outside of the rails G. The

i hounds (I are also secured on the bar D between The side rails, O, are secured to the axle B by d is recessed transversely at d to receive the back of a wedqef dfl The ,face of ,t1 e twed e receives the lower ,fa,ce ,of tite' td-ngd edges of thewedged being providdd witl upwardly-extending lips d, which engage the sides of the tongue. The wedge is further provided with a vertical elongated slot, 61 centrallylocated, through which a draw-bolt, d", passes, said bolt passing also through the tongue and cross-bar d, and locks the tongue snugly to the wedge and cross-bar. By adjusting the wedge 11 forward and backward the tongue is vertically adj usted to suit the heights of different teams. The drills or runners F are curved, as shown, the upper ends being secured to the bar (1 and their heels to the lower ends of the standards G, which standards also serve as dropping-throats. The upper ends ofthe dropping throats or standards G are secured to the under side of the bar D, and as the bar D or truck is rocked or tilted on its hinges the heels of the drills are elevated or depressed and caused to cut a shallower or a deeper furrow. The means for tilting this bar D and thereby regulating the depth of furrow form an important part ,off myrinvela tion, and. consist of the following devides A curved standard, H, is rigidly secured at its lower end to the axle B at or near the center thereof, and is provided at its upper end with a drivers seat, h. The standard H is further provided with a slot, h, just above the axle B, in which a lever, h", is pivoted, its short end extending forwardly. A lever, h is pivoted toa toothed sector, if, rigidly secured between the rear ends of the hounds d. Thelever h has its short arm extending rearwardly. The short arm of h is preferably bifurcated, and the short arm of h' is pivotally secured to h be tween the branches of its bifurcated end. The long arm of lever h terminates in a handle, h, and the same lever is also provided with a foot-rest, h, located just below the handle for applying foot-power to the lever. A pawl, h, is pivoted to the lever h in position to engage the toothed portion of the section h,

'and extends rearwardly past the lever h to admit of being operated by the foot ofthe driver. It (the pawl) is also connected with a hand-lever, h by a link or red, h, by which construction the hand as it grasps the hanidle of the lever will lift the pawl out of engagement with the teeth of the sector. Suppose the levers to occupy the position represented in Fig. 2. The drills being elevated and locked in their elevated position by the pawl h in contact with the sec or, the drills may bedepressed in either of the following ways: The driver may reach forward and grasp the ban dle h, thereby releasing the pawl hlof lever h and draw the handle rearwardly; or, he may press the short arm of either lever with one foot and release the pawl h" with the other. In either case the lovers and drills will be thrown into the depressed position shown in Fig. 3; and locked in that position by the pawl h If it be desirable to make the drills '23,: late out deeper than when in the normal depressed is placed a sliding or swinging block, 2 to which the double-trees are attached. A drawrod, I, connects the sliding block i, or doubletrees attached thereto, to a lever, h for exampic, at a point above the pivotal point of the lever, and thereby allows the draft of the team to operate the lever h" in the direction to force the runners into the ground with a yielding force, which is automatic, in hard or soft ground. An adjustable stop, z", secured on the tongue, determines the forward motion of the block '5. Thus, suppose the runners to be forced out of the ground, the double-trees and sliding block are drawn back from the stop, which action is against the draft, but the draft in turn slides the block forwardly and forces them down again. The draft will be found sufficient to force the runners down without the aid of either foot or hand lever, and I do not, therefore, wish to confine myself to using the several means indicated above in combination. This matter of causing the drills to out deeper or shallower at pleasure is a matter of considerable importance where the ground is uneven, for the purpose of planting the seed at a uniform depth. The levers are thrown from the position shown in Fig. 3, where the drills are depressed, back to the position shown in Fig. 2, where the drills are elevated. by the pressure OftllG foot on the rear end of the lever h".

From the above construction it will be observed that the driver can depress, elevate. and regulate the depth of cut of the drills by either his foot or hand, or by means of the draft of the team. When the latter is used, the pawl h is only useful in holding the drills in an elevated adjustment.

K represents one of the seed-boxes. Its bottom It is provided with a circular opening, is, beneath which the seed-plate k is located in close contact with the bottom. The bottom is is provided with laterally-extending projections k which rest on the upper side of the bar or sill D and lap over on its sides. Bolts 70 pass through D and k, and secure the box K rigidly to the bar D. The seed-plate 7c is pivotally mounted at its center on a movable floor-plate, L, and provided with a circular row of boxes, Z, each adapted to hold the de sired number of kernels to plant a hill, and with aset of teeth, l,on its periphery,by means of which it is rotated. The floor-plate L is pivoted at one end between the projection la and the bar D. A blank, Z, is secured to the plate L by means of a curved arm, I, which extends from near the pivotal point of L around about one-third of the periphery of is", just above the teeth Z. The upper surface of the blank Z is in a plane with the upper see-rive surface of -the plate It, and the end of the blank toward k is made concave to" conform to the periphery thereof. The blank is sufficiently large to cover the circular opening k in the bottom of the seed-box. By this construction the seed-plate may be swung from the box, and the blank 1 follows its motion and takes its place beneath the box when it is removed. Thus a change of the seed-plates may be accomplished in a moment of time, i and the plate returned to its position beneath the'box Kwithout scattering or disturbing the seed therein. The swinging floor-plate L by a gravity-latch. M, or its equivalent. The

. projections 70 are provided with rearwardlyextending arms or lugs m. provided with suitable bearings, in which a roc ,N is journaled. The shaft N is provided with 1 clutches a loosely mounted thereon, which is locked in its position beneath the seed-box take against a shoulder, n, on a rigid collar or faces of two consecutive teeth. As the shaft secured.

enlarged portion of the shaft when drawn over toward the front; but either clutch will admit of the shaft completing a half-revolution over toward the front without disturbing the other clutch. Each clutch is provided with an operating-arm, n. v The clutch on the end of the shaft N has its arm n connected with the short arm of the fork-lever, O,which is adapted to be operated by a cheek-rower wire in the ordinary manner... The clutch 11., located on the shaft N, inside of the box K, is connected with l the end 'of an operating-lever, P, pivotally secured to the side rail near the axle B, the upl per end of the lever I? being adapted to re ceive the foot of the driver by which the rock- I shaftN may be operated. The lever]? may also be operated by a cam-toothed wheel, 19, rev olving with the truck-wheel and engaging a projection, p, on the lever P. Therock'shaftN receives its forward'motion only y hemcans i above described. It is returned by the tension of a spring, 19, attached to it and the rear ends of the hounds or other convenient point. An upwardly extending arm, Q. is formed integral with or secured to the shaft N at a point directly in the rear of the outside teeth on the seed-plate. The arm Q is provided with an oblong vertical slot, q, having an upper portion,in which a push'pawl, R, is pivoted, and a lower portion in which a rebounding stop, r, is pivoted, so that the stop r travels slower than the pushpawl R for the purpose of diminishing. the space between their workingfaces. Thus by having 2' and R pivoted on a long and short arm, respectively, the stoppawl T will remain in front of a tooth until the push-pawl has receded to a position be i hind the next preceding tooth, thus preventing more than one tooth to pass at a time. i R and r are arranged to operate in eonjunc tion with one another, as follows: As the shaft I N is rocked forwardly,the push-pawl R, having a shoulder, r,on its under face, takes against a v tooth, P, on the seed-plate and rotates the seed- N is returned by the action of the spring 1), the pawl R rises by means of an incline, r", in the rear of the shoulder 0", over the tooth l next preceding the one just engaged, and falls in position to engage this tooth I? when the shaft N is rocked forwardly again. The return of the shaft N has also brought the shouldered end r of the stop 1" rearwardly in close proximity to the tooth Z first engaged by the pawl thereby, preventing the seedplate from rotating forwardly until pushed by the pawl R, or, if the stroke is not complete, the end r will engage the next succeeding tooth and return the plate to its original position. The stop 17 serves the further purpose of lifting the pawl R out of contact with the teeth on the seed-plate. For this purpose the forward end of r is beveled, as shown in Fig. 4, and an adjustable rest, S, is arranged-to slide rearwardly to a point where the beveled end 0 of the stop a will slide up on it asR and r are forced forwardly, and thereby lift itself and the pawl R, the forward end of which rests on 1', out of eontactwith the teeth. When so lifted, the seed-plate remains statiouary and allows only one side of planter to op; erate,which is found convenient in planting point-rows or for leaving out a row. Again, an outwardly-extending shoulder, a", on the end of r engages the front edge of the projection and limits the length of the return stroke of the shaft N. A stop or draw pawl, s, pivoted to alug, s, on the shaftN, is adapted to engagea tooth on the inside edge of the seed-plate, and serves to hold the plate against a retrograde displacmcnt and also to complete a forward stroke of the seed-plate when it fails from any cause to advance the full distance of two successive teeth by the action of the push-pawl R. I It accomplishes this as follows: The hooks" on or near the end of the stop 5 falls over a tooth when the forw a rd stroke of the shaft N is about two-thirds completed. If, now. the stroke should fail at this point for any reason, the pawl It would not take on the next preceding tooth when returned,and the seed-plate would fail to deposit its load, but the hook s" as the shaft returns will draw on the tooth it is in contact with and thereby rotate the plate sufficiently to complete the stroke.

It is evident that a stop to prevent the forward motion of the seed-plate might be attached at different points on the shaft from those shown, and accomplish, essentially, the same result. I do not wish, therefore, to coir fine myselfstrietly tothe abovedescribed form and arrangement of parts.- Abroad-mouthed funnel, T, is secured in lateral adjustment to the rear of the bar D, beneath the opening in the door-plate, for the passage of the seed. The lower end of T is over or slightly within the broad upper end of the dropping-throatt in the standard G. The upper end of the standard G isprovided with a horizontal plate plate the distance between the corresponding or flange, t, towhich the standard Gis firmly The plate t is provided with a series IlS ' below the bar.

spending adjustment of of perforations, 1. Two bolts, it, are set in the bar D with their threaded ends projecting The standard G is secured to the under side of D,in different lateral adj ustments, by passing two, of th perforations t over t1}? ends of; th ebolts t fla nd turning on arm, y, on the bar Di In F g. 17 the drawthe nu-.. t- The breadth of the upper end of rod is capable of vertical ad ustment on the the throat will admit of a considerable lateral lever h", and is attached at its forward end to a vibrating arm, 3/, to which arm the double-tree is also attached; and in Fig. 18 the pivotal blocks as are interposed between the hounds and rails and connected with the sliding block on the tongue by rods m, whereby the drills are depressed when the dr' ft is applied.

In Fig. 16 the draw-rod is connected to an the funnel itself may be laterally adjusted by with respect to the levers, and a link, a, binds The lateral adj ustthe short arms of the two levers together.

' The modifications represent a few of the many ways in which the levers for elevating and depressing the drills may be constructed and operated without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Havingfully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isment for increasing or diminishing the space 1. The combination,with a truck and a drillbetween the rows without changing the boxes. section hinged thereto, of two levers, one se- The slide U, for discharging the seed at the cured to the truck and the other to the drillheel of the drill, is operated by a gravity or section, the short arms of said levers being spring dog. u,pivotally'secured to the upper end adapted to act reciprocally upon each other to ot'its shank u. The slide is held imposition by I elevate or depress the drill section, substana closed slot, if, at the heel of the standard Q, tially as set forth. through ,which it passes, and by a two-arm 2. The combination,with atruck and adrillguide, which partially embraces the shank supporting frame hinged thereto, of two levers u. The guide V is secured to the back of the having their short arms pivotally secured tostandard G in vertical adjustment. whereby gether, one o the dog a is caused to release itself from the I shaft N at an earlier or later part of the stroke.

a rearwardlypressed, substantially as set forth. extending elongated flange or shelf, a, on the 3. The combination,with a truck andadrillrear edge of which the dog it takes, in what- I section hinged thereto, of two levers adapted adjustment the standard may be to elevate and depress the drill-section, and a secured. The dog it is constructed to release I pawl secured to one of the levers, and engagitself from the rock-shaft at or near the end of the first half-stroke, and the slide returns to its closed position regardless of the finish of the stroke, thus catching the seed which is being or about being throat.

truck wheels, which act as covering-wheels.

The simple adjustment of the truck-wheels has been explained. That, taken in connection adjustments, substantially as set forth.-

4.. The combination, discharged from the, hinged and a pawl pivoted to locked against motion in the opposite direc for engaging the toothed sector, substantially tion. 1 g as set forth.

In Fig. 12 the toothed sector andpawl arc 5. The combination, with a truck, a drillused with the foot-levers only, and the pawl section hinged thereto, and a lever pivotally will hold the drills elevated when the three secured to the truck, of a combined hand and pivotal points are on line. l, foot lever pivotally secured to the drill-sec- In Fig. 13 the toothed sector is provided tion and to the first-named lever, whereby the with a rearwardly-extending drills may be elevated or depressed either by may be secured in different positions on the the hand or foot, substantially as set forth. lever h, and the sector thereby rendered ad- 6. The combination, with a front or drill justable. section of a planter and a combined foot and In Fig. 14 an adjustable stop, an, is seen red hand operating lever, of a combined foot and to the edge of a smooth sector, against which hand operated pawl pivoted to the lever and engaging a sector rigidly secured to one of said sections, substantially as set forth. over the stop as, as the lever h pletes its stroke, by means of the connectingrod. The side rails, O, are hereshown as projecting over the hounds, and wedge-shaped sliding floor-plate having the seed-plate journaled thereon, substantially as set forth.

with a seed-box, of a laterally-swinging floor-plate having the seedplate journaled thereon, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with a seed-box, of a laterally'swinging floor-plate having the seedplate journaled thereon, and a blank secured to the floor-plate in close proximity to the upper surface of the seed-plate, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with a rotary seedplate constructed to slide from under the seedbox, of a gravity-latch adapted to lock the seed-plate init-s working position,substantially as set forth.

11. The combination, with arot -i-rv seedplate, a rock-shaft, and a pawl operated by said rock-shaft, of a movable stop located alongside of the pawl and adapted to lock the seed-plate against displacement and return the plate to its original position when a partial stroke has been made, substantially as set forth.

12. The combination, with a rotary seedplate operated by a pawl secured to a rockshaft, of a stop adapted to lock the seed-plate against displacement, return it when a partial stroke has been made, throw the pawl out of contact with the plate, and limit the returnstroke of the rock-shaft, substantially as set forth.

13. The combination, with a dropping-th mat, a rock-shaft, and a gate for opening and closing the dropping-throauof a gravity-dog attached to the gate and adapted to automatically engage and disengage the rock-shaft during the first part of its forward stroke, thereby opening and closing the gate, substantially as set forth.

14. The combination, with adropping-throat and a rockshaft, of a gate for opening and closing the dropping-throat, said gate being operated by the rock-shaft, and adjusting devices connected with the gate, whereby the shaft is caused to close the gate at an earlier or later part of the stroke, substantially as and 4 5 for the purpose set forth.

15. The combination, wit-h a seed-plate and a dropping-throat gate, of a spring-actuated rock-shaft adapted to operate the plate and gate, substantially as set forth.

16. The combination, with the rock-shaft, of two clutches loosely mounted thereon, one connected with a check-rower fork 'and the other with a foot-operated lever, constructed as described, so that one clutch automatically remains idle when the other is in use, substan tially as set forth.

17. The combination, with a seedbox and a laterally-adjustable fil'Olilplllg-blll'Oftt of an adjustable broad-men hed tunnel for transferring the seed from the seedplate to the throat, substantially as set forth.

18. The combination, with a seed box and plate, of a dropping-throat provided with a broad mouth, whereby it may be laterally adjusted while the seed-box remains stationary, substantially as set forth. 4

19. The combination, with alatcrally-adjnstable dropping-throat and a gate for opening and closing the lower end of the throat, of a rockshaftprovided \uitha longitudinal flange or shelf adapted to operate'the gate in the different lateral adjustments of the th roat, substantially asset forth.

20. The combination, with a tongue and tilting runners, of doubletrees secured to the tongue in a reciprocating adjustment, and devices connecting the double-trees with the tilting runners, whereby the latter are forced into the ground with a yielding force, snbstantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. liililWl'S Ill. \V'A'Jlltl'tllAN.

\Vitncsses:

SOL. HIRSOH, O. F. Annnnson. 

